Taltos

I think Michael is my favourite character through the whole Mayfair saga. He’s resilient & clever. He loves his wife and has given over everything to be with her. He contains an innocence that the rest of the Mayfairs lack. Michael doesn’t submit to destiny, he tries to make his own fate. He believes in everyone’s innate goodness, until they prove him wrong.

Did Ash realize his beautiful redhead was Michael’s daughter? I think he did when Michael waved to him at the porch. Ash only wanted the best for his people. Maybe he finally found it. No more lonely towers.

Taltos is likely the best of the three Mayfair books. In my opinion, at least. I enjoyed it far more than The Witching Hour and Lasher. I was eager to read every word. I found myself thinking about the story throughout the day. I would have to tear myself away constantly. If time permitted, I could have read the book in a day or two.

I wonder what will happen to Rowan… To Michael… To young Mona… Mary Jane, Pierce, even Morrigan. So many of them are young. So many of the Mayfair witches could have a story to tell.

Murder in Mesopotamia

What a great story! I thoroughly enjoyed Murder in Mesopotamia. Agatha Christie was such a brilliant writer. Her characters are always so vivid. They have their outward appearances, but as the mystery goes on, Hercule Poirot, the greatest detective, gets deeper into their personalities. Little tidbits are revealed.

Murder in Mesopotamia is the third book of Agatha Christie’s I’ve read. [See previous post (http://loniseye.blogspot.com/2006/08/abc-murders.html) The ABC Murders.] Though the detective (star/hero) is Hercule Poirot, the story is always told from someone else’s perspective. In this case, Nurse Leatheran is given the task of writing an account of what occurred when Mrs. Leidner was murdered because there has been some kind of public questioning of the events. Poirot is not even the person who asks her, it is Dr. Reilly, a common associate. I have noticed that it is always someone different who narrates the case, someone who was involved, but who is also objective. Nurse Leatheran certainly makes her feelings about all individuals involved (including Poirot) clear. I suppose it would be difficult to fully describe the machinations of the detective’s mind and perhaps it is a way for Christie to keep the reader guessing until the end.

Ghostrider

How lame! It started off looking like a movie from the 80s. On the whole it only had a couple good points, but nothing that made up for the entire lack of originality. Some parts were close to the actual comic, but I would totally sacrifice that for a movie that was entertaining. I was sorely disappointed.

This is the Ghostrider! The ride with Carter Slade was just cheesy… I was waiting for them to team up, only to have nothing come of it. There need to be more effects, more fight scenes! Not just him taking out the bad guys. There was no real battle. Those elemental things were no challenge for him at all! Maybe they tried to make up for it when Ghostrider fought Blackheart, but even that was bad. It could have been so much better.

I think the actually script was okay. If you listen to the words they’re saying, there is real potential there. It’s just how the words and scenes were interpreted. Eva Mendes was a good choice for Roxanne. I just don’t think she really got a chance to show her anger and then her eventual move to forgiveness and understanding. She goes so quickly from ‘I love you’ to ‘I hate you’ to ‘I love you again’ without much thought. Nicolas Cage… well… I think he might have been too old to play Ghostrider. I don’t care that he wore a rug and whatever else to look younger, that’s fine. I think he could have been a good Ghostrider too, if they (especially Slade) didn’t insist on calling him ‘kid’ all the time. So maybe it isn’t that he was too old, maybe it was that they were trying to make him younger, because seriously, Nicolas Cage is 42.

It had potential and they messed it up. Just because X-Men, Spider-Man and Fantastic Four have spawned amazing franchises, does not mean that ever comic movie can. It lacked something. More than something, it lacked a lot. Hopefully, they’ll learn that they can’t ride on the coattails of excellence, they have to make it for themselves.

Inkygirl: Daily Diversions For Writers

Interesting blog. Funny comics and good links. Check it out!

Inkygirl: Daily Diversions For Writers

Vote for the Worst

I checked out this website today: Vote for the Worst. One of my bosses said I should take a look. He, myself and another co-worker watch American Idol all the time (even though we're up in Canada), because it's entertaining. I missed last week's episode where Brandon was voted off. I wasn't terribly surprised, I didn't think he would win. But I was a little surprised to find out it wasn't Sanjaya. He's a cute kid, but I think he's too young for this competition. I also think he's a good singer, he just doesn't use his voice well enough. This is when my boss told me about votefortheworst.com. I've read through some of the site and these people have a point. This show is constructed to make good television, not just good singers. I don't think I'd necessarily do what they wanted, but it's an interesting way to see how the general public can control one of the most popular television shows and the media.

Some of the people who email this site are really mad though. They're telling whoever runs Vote for the Worst to "rot in hell" and saying a lot of other angry things. I think that's a little extreme. One persone did say that they should use this power they've garnered for world peace or ending poverty or something like that. I agree. The internet is a powerful tool and if it can get a few hundred thousand people to vote for one particular singer, maybe it can get all those same people to donate $1.00 to the One Campaign (US) or Make Poverty History (Canada). That's the kind of power I'd like to see.

I definitly think you should check out votefortheworst.com. It's hilarious. But afterwards, do a good deed, just so your karma balances out. :)

Lasher

Welcome to the world of Lasher, the demon/ghost/spirit that has attached itself to the Mayfair women for thirteen generations. Why? That’s how many generations of breeding it took the spirit to create a witch powerful enough to give birth to it… to make it flesh. He is the Taltos, ready to breed and make more of his kind.

They fight. Rowan fights to regain her life. Michael fights for his wife. The Mayfairs fight to keep the family safe. The Talamasa fight for something we’re not exactly sure of. Lasher fights to live.

Lasher is filled with all kinds of twists and turns. You feel one way about the demon, then sympathy arises. But is it part of his power? Are his words designed to make you want to help him? Is it all lies? You really want to know.

I thought Lasher was a great book. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series of the Mayfair witches. There is now a connection with the characters. I want to know what happens to them. I want to know if Michael and Rowan will ever be happy.

300

Absolutely Fantastic!! Utterly Amazing!! I thought 300 was fabulous. It is the most beautiful war/action movie I’ve ever seen. The fight scenes were beyond intricate. They were graceful. There was a sheer beauty to each moment, each movement. Every frame could be a still photograph. Completely visually stunning.

Through these images, a real, emotional story was told. You feel for these men. These warriors stand for Sparta and all of Greece with no support. They fight for their freedom. In every second you watch, you can feel their struggle. Queen Gorgo was the perfect counterpart to King Leonidas. She was strong and fought for Sparta. This was a woman who would do anything for her husband. She is a warrior in her own right, skilled with a sword and ready for her battles.

Even the music was brilliant. It flowed with the story perfectly. It never seemed out of place or inappropriate. It only served to enhance the feelings on screen. The composer was wonderful.

I think I am running out of words to describe this movie. I loved it! 300 did not need any big names or hype. The story and images are worth seeing all on its own. The acting was perfect. It has validity, talent and substance. I want to see it again.

Men With Brooms

I love this movie!!! It’s so funny and super sweet. I love the big world of the small town. It’s so Canadian. With a special appearance by The Tragically Hip. Paul Gross, Leslie Neilson and Molly Parker just made me feel so good today! Men With Brooms keeps you smiling the whole time. There’s not much more I can really say about it…. I loved it. I could watch it a hundred times and still keep laughing. Everyone should watch it.

Check out the official website on the men and the brooms!
http://www.serendipitypoint.com/menwithbrooms/frameset.asp

PRISM international

I’ve been reading a few issues of PRISM international (44:4, 45:1 & 45:2). It is a literary journal produced by the University of British Columbia, though no member of the UBC faculty or students of the Creative Writing program may submit their work for publication. However, after graduation, there is no stopping them. The journal includes short fictions, non-fiction, poetry and interesting artwork on the cover. I do have to say, I’ve read some great work from some amazing authors. I’ve also read works not to my taste.

In issue 44:4, PRISM published their fiction contest winners. Honestly, I didn’t really like the first place winner. It was well written and a decent story, but I found it too “regular” or something. The second place winner, to me, screamed second. It was a great story, but something in it said that it couldn’t quite make it to first. I thought the third place story, Ingénues by Ibi Kaslik should have won. It was an amazing story. Utterly fantastic. I loved Mara. I hope to hear more from this writer. Below is her website. She has a book out too… I think I might be picking it up.

http://ibikaslik.net/

45:1 is the following fall issue. I think it contained a great collection of stories. I found many of the stories interesting. 45:2 came in the mail not that long ago. I love the front cover art (I don’t always like the front cover art). It also contained their Non-Fiction Contest winners. [Non-fiction bothers me a little bit. It’s the internal knowledge that what I’m reading pretty much happened and what I’m reading could be quite disturbing.] The winner and runner up were both quite compelling. I encourage the purchase of this issue for just those two pieces. PRISM is one of the few literary journals I find myself returning. They seem to regularly choose amazing authors with intelligent work.

Visit their website for more information:
http://prism.arts.ubc.ca/index.htm

Lori Nuic

Like beautiful girls with beautiful voices? Forget American Idol! Check out this amazing singer: Lori Nuic. I had the pleasure of seeing her live a few years ago. Her debut CD is hitting stores on February 27th. It is simply fabulous!! For more information, her website is below.

LoriNuic.com

Click Here For Free Beer (Dan's Site)

Dan has moved to Singapore for 6 months! He's been there three weeks so far. From what I can tell, it's crazy and fabulous. He's got some great pictures up on his space. I'm so super jealous. I know he's having a great time, even though he's there for work... I wish my work would send me to a fabulous, exotic country and pay my way... Too bad he's missing the beach party, though... [I know, I look so drunk in that picture.]

Click here for free beer

Robots

From the makers of Ice Age(Blue Sky Studios) comes Robots! Well, I wouldn’t spread the word on that too much. It was bad. I found myself falling asleep. My husband left after an hour. It was torturous.

I expected so much more. The animation itself is stunning. The characters, their movements, the backgrounds are so clean and crisp. It looks so real and flawless. The cast is all-star: Robin Williams, Ewan McGregor and Halle Berry just to name a few. These are talented, A-list actors. I only wish the story was worthy of their talents.

It was so utterly predictable. Small town boy moves to big city to live out his dreams (and his father’s vicariously). But, oh no!! There’s an evil villain in charge of the big corporation. He fights for his dreams, for the poor and gets the girl in the end. Even the things the characters say are so predictable. “Believe in yourself.” “You can do it!” Blah, blah, blah.

Honest recommendation: don’t watch it. I’m never getting that hour and a half back. I don’t want anyone else to loose that time too.

If you’re interested, here is the website for the movie and for Blue Sky Studios.

http://www.robotsmovie.com/
http://www.blueskystudios.com/content/index.php

Casino Royale

I finally got around to seeing the new James Bond. What a great movie! Admittedly, I was a little hesitant about seeing it. It seems that “prequels” are all the rage. The second Star Wars Trilogy, Enterprise, Hannibal Rising, Batman Begins and others; just too many to name them all. Not that I don’t like prequels, in general. I thought Batman Begins was fantastic; it shot new life into the Batman franchise.

Lucky for me, I discovered that Casino Royale and Daniel Craig were great, definitely giving a boost to the James Bond legacy. The movie was full of excitement, power and beautiful people. Not just the women either. Daniel Craig might be the hottest James Bond ever. I’ve read that some critics have said that he’s not attractive enough. I’m sorry, did they seem him come out of the water and walk up the beach? He’s got a rugged appeal that the other Bonds did not. He might not be as refined as his predecessors, but that is part of the process. It’s a “prequel” right? He has to evolve into the James Bond we’re all familiar with. It really is his evolution. At first he’s cold-hearted and emotionally detached. We see him learn to connect with his emotions. We get to see him learn how to wear “a proper dinner jacket” and ask for a vodka martini. By the end of the movie, he does become more refined. Future films, I think, will see him growing into the legendary and more familiar James Bond.

I have a theory about James Bond and 007. In Casino Royale, M is the same M that was in charge all through Pierce Brosnan’s run as James Bond. I think time passes normally and that when an agent is promoted to 007, he also takes on the name “James Bond”. When M asks James in Casino Royale if the dead woman had known his real name, he answers, no. However, you hear her call him James while they’re kissing. So maybe it’s not his “real” name. Of course, how could all these different Bonds be fond of the same drink and exhibit the same personality traits? Unless, of course, it’s part of being promoted to 007, pretending to be this person you’re not. I’m just speculating.

One final note. If you haven’t seen Casino Royale, go see it. You won’t be disappointed.

Heroes

I love Heroes! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s NBC’s new show on Monday nights. I think it’s fantastic. I love the characters, even the bad guys. Though, to me, the real villian is Syler. He’s killing people to steal their powers. You can’t get more bad than that. There is also the mysterious Mr. Linderman. After last night’s episode, it looks like we’re coming closer to meeting him in person. We know he was a “friend” of Peter and Nathan’s father. He’s also blackmailed Nathan and it looks like he’s going to have Jessica/Niki kill him too. Linderman seems to be the key to Hiro’s “destiny” as well. Who is he? Where does his power come from?

Even though Mr. Bennet seems like a bad kind of guy, he does have a real redeeming quality. He loves his family. Though it seems that his efforts to protect them as ended up hurting his wife. His love for Claire is real and apparent. I felt for him with Claire announced that he wasn’t her real father. As much as he’s done bad things, his priority really does seem to be protecting her.

I also think it’s fabulous that Peter is Claire’s uncle! I think these two are my favourite characters. I have a soft spot for Peter Petrelli. He’s just so wonderfully idealistic. He wants to save the world. He could have died saving Claire, but it didn’t matter. He risked his life for a girl he didn’t know. All he knew was that he had to ‘save the cheerleader’. Even though he saw Simone with Isaac, it didn’t shake his faith in the mission. I think Peter might be the hero of Heroes.

Offical Homepage: http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/

The Historian

The Historian is one of the most elegantly written works I’ve ever read. You can sense the classical influences, like Henry James. The narrative was fluid, transition between sections beautifully. I loved the different narrators, though it was all relayed through one person. Each voice was distinct and filled with the emotion of the specific character. I can completely see myself reading this again in the future.

It’s Dracula through history. I appreciated that the novel did not start out believing in Dracula or vampires or some kind of demon hunt. It started with the search of a daughter for her father, which became a search through history. Only through history is a belief in Vlad Dracula’s existence reached. It is gradual, not forced. I also enjoyed the Dracula-enriched historical perspective of the relationship between east and west.

When I first read what I thought was the end of their quest, I said to the book, you’re kidding! That’s how it ends? But after that violent family reunion, there is more than just tales of truth and apologies. There is a shock for us and the narrator. Now adult, she receives a calling for her own quest.

I want to know what happened with the narrator and Barley. Yes, they are both young when the story occurs, but she said that she loved him. After the final confrontation, he is accepted, in a way, into her family. Paul looks at him with fondness and shakes his hand. As an adult, she doesn’t mention him as being a part of her present life. I wonder if they ever tried to date, to be a “normal” couple. Of course, we’ll never know. Unless, Elizabeth Kostova decides to write a sequel. It seems to be a possibility, with certain aspects of the ending left open. We’ll just have to wait and see what new tale this writer creates.

We’ll also have to wait and see the movie! Sony bought the rights, so it’s in the works. I believe the producer is the same person who made Memoirs of a Geisha (which I adored). For updated information, check out The Historian fansite: http://the-historian.net/ Let’s hope it’s as fantastic as the book.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan

What an immensely crude film?! But it’s hilarious! I don’t think it’s quite the funniest movie of the year, maybe there was too much hype around it. Though, there is no denying the humour. There are the obvious jokes, that anyone would get and more subtle ones too. It’s definitely a laugh-out-loud sort of thing.

What I liked… and kind of didn’t like about this film was its blatant racism. What Borat and his producer say are deeply offensive, but they can be excused because they are playing characters; these are not real people. What is disturbing are the people who aren’t pretending. Like the cowboy in Texas talking about Muslims and the white frat boys talking about minorities and woman. These are real people voicing very real and (to me) frightening opinions.

I’m not sure what to think of Borat. I think something can be learned from this movie. How has the average American reacted? I also wonder about the people of Kazakhstan and how they react to their country’s portrayal. Not just the government, but the real people too. Sacha Baron Cohen recently won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Borat. His movie and character go beyond just the vulgar humour; there is substance there as well.

The Witching Hour

Yesterday, I finished Anne Rice’s The Witching Hour. While reading, I found myself having to force myself to put the book down. Yes, there are definitely some disturbing scenes. The Witching Hour also has an erotic undertone… and overtone. I just think it is an interesting story; that someone/something could see into the future and create their own vessel in which to become flesh on earth.

The only problem I had with this novel is the length. It’s over a thousand pages. So if you decide to pick up this novel, it is a commitment. I can usually read a three to four hundred page novel in about two weeks, usually less. This one has taken me about a month. Towards the end, I just wanted it to be over. The ending was definitely not a surprise. However, it did leave it open for the next two novels. What will happen to Michael, Rowan and Lasher? You have to keep reading to find out.

Hellboy

What happened to Hellboy?

It starts out as a great action/fantasy movie. There are good effects, scary monsters, it’s great. I liked the contrast of what Hellboy was born as and what his father taught him to be. There are morals in this movie. We also see the difference between “following destiny” and making a choice to change the future.

They really screwed up the ending though. There’s no real climax. It becomes all too predictable. She’s a firestarter, he’s fireproof, of course they’re made for each other! You could see how he was going to defeat the big demon at the end. Men In Black anyone? In general, I liked the movie, but the end failed to live up to the rest of the storyline.

Mandi, Kelly & Me at Kelly's wedding....













At the Reception...

Blood Diamond

It is so difficult to describe such a powerful film. Blood Diamond is potent and moving; everyone needs to watch. There is so much emotion and reality weaved into every bit of it. Blood Diamond makes you think, not just about what is happening in Africa, but what is happening in jewelry stores all over the world. This film goes beyond the diamond trade and deep into the lives of ordinary African citizens, trying to make a future for their children.

Leonardo DiCaprio is brilliant. It is no wonder he is up for a Golden Globe (against himself). He certainly deserves it. Djimon Hounsou is amazing as the African father fighting for his family. Each character, including the reporter played by Jennifer Connelly, goes through an emotional change and life threatening situations. All the while, their lives revolve around one big pink rock. Blood Diamond keeps your heart and mind racing.