The other day I watched the movie The Last Song with one of my roommates. At one point in the movie, a character named Will quotes the famous Tolstoy line from Anna Karenina: "Happy families are all alike, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
This quotation sums up how I felt about the movie. I found Ronnie's tense and complex relationship with her father to be far more interesting than her cookie-cutter romance with beach god Will. It was so cookie-cutter that it even came with a bitchy blonde ex-girlfriend and rich, disapproving parents. The rich, disapproving parents worked in The Notebook, but for some reason they don't work here. The love story felt flat. I wasn't interested in Ronnie and Will; I was interested in Ronnie and her dad. Ronnie and Will were happy, despite the obligatory arguments, which felt extremely forced at times.
I'm not sure what the novel is like, but the movie felt at times like two different movies smushed together. Have you ever read any books like that? Why do you think they didn't work well?
Friday, August 27, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
The Prince of Persia and Plot
Recently I went to go see The Prince of Persia: Sands of Time at the dollar theater (which costs two dollars, so why do we still call it the dollar theater?). I loved it. I'm sorry that it didn't do very well during its regular run, but I can see why.
The biggest problem was the plot. It was fine until the introduction of the Hassansins (assassins - get it?) who are Islamic mystics who also happen to be mythical death-delivering ninjas. In theory this is a seriously awesome idea. After all, there is no such thing as too many ninjas. The problem is, they don't appear until about two thirds of the way through the movie, and we haven't heard a peep about them before then. Not even a mention that they exist. A halfhearted attempt is made a little bit later when Dastan (Jake Gyllenhal) tells one of his brothers about the Hassansins, and his brother scoffs that they're just stories from childhood tales. How hard would it have been to drop a few lines earlier in the movie about these childhood tales about Hassansins? If this movie were a book, and I were an editor, I'd tell the author that he had to mention the whirling-dervish-ninjas before surprising the reader with them over halfway through.
Also: papyrus font? Really? Did they hire a high schooler to pick the font? It just looked really amateur in comparison to the rest of the film.
Overall, though, I found the movie really enjoyable, and I'm definitely going to buy it. It's a fun, slightly silly fantasy/action movie that doesn't take itself seriously. And it's a real relief to be able to watch fluff that unashamedly calls itself fluff.
The biggest problem was the plot. It was fine until the introduction of the Hassansins (assassins - get it?) who are Islamic mystics who also happen to be mythical death-delivering ninjas. In theory this is a seriously awesome idea. After all, there is no such thing as too many ninjas. The problem is, they don't appear until about two thirds of the way through the movie, and we haven't heard a peep about them before then. Not even a mention that they exist. A halfhearted attempt is made a little bit later when Dastan (Jake Gyllenhal) tells one of his brothers about the Hassansins, and his brother scoffs that they're just stories from childhood tales. How hard would it have been to drop a few lines earlier in the movie about these childhood tales about Hassansins? If this movie were a book, and I were an editor, I'd tell the author that he had to mention the whirling-dervish-ninjas before surprising the reader with them over halfway through.
Also: papyrus font? Really? Did they hire a high schooler to pick the font? It just looked really amateur in comparison to the rest of the film.
Overall, though, I found the movie really enjoyable, and I'm definitely going to buy it. It's a fun, slightly silly fantasy/action movie that doesn't take itself seriously. And it's a real relief to be able to watch fluff that unashamedly calls itself fluff.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Review: Mara: Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Mara: Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw was first published in 1958 1953, and as far as I know it has never been out of print. This popular young adult novel, one of my childhood favorites, should also engross adult readers who are looking for a novel about ancient Egypt with a realistic setting and unique characters. I've read several more recent novels that take place in ancient Egypt, and they don't stand out like this one does.
Mara is the story of the titular blue-eyed slave girl, a literate and highly intelligent 17-year-old with a flair for sarcasm. Bought by a nobleman because of her noble appearance and ability for mimicry, she is assigned to the royal palace in the guise of a Babylonian interpreter for the prince's Syrian bride. Her real mission is to spy on the prince to uncover plots intended to depose Queen Hatshepsut and raise the prince himself to the throne.
However, Mara finds herself accidentally tangled up in the coup itself when she is also recruited by Sheftu, one of the prince's men, who believes her to be nothing more than a runaway slave. Mara decides to play both sides to her own advantage as a double agent, but becomes conflicted when she feels herself falling for Sheftu and beginning to agree with his cause.
I have always had just a few complaints about what is truly an amazing novel. The dialogue, especially between Mara and Sheftu, has the tendency to switch back and forth between "thee" and "you," sometimes in the same sentence. This can be rather distracting, and I think such archaic language should have been gotten rid of. The characterizations are almost all great, except for Hatshepsut. Disclaimer: I did a report on Hatshepsut in sixth grade and I've been a huge fan ever since. McGraw depicts Hatshepsut as a spoiled woman who is perfectly happy to let the whole country go to pot so long as she can build grandiose monuments in her name. How McGraw's Hatshepsut ever came to power and managed to keep it, I'll never know. The real Hatshepsut was a politically shrewd and highly intelligent woman who ruled as queen regent for the young Thutmose III for several years before declaring herself pharaoh, apparently without Thutmose's objection. And, unlike in the novel, she ran the country very well and brought about great economic prosperity. In Mara she is reduced to little more than an evil stepmother. In McGraw's defense, this was actually the popular view of Hatshepsut in the Egyptological community at that time. Still, I wish she had fleshed out the queen's character more. Hatshepsut has a great speech the last time we see her at the end of the book, a very dignified and proud speech, but with only a few pages left it's too late to prevent the character from being one-dimensional. The main problem is that we never get to hear Hatshepsut's side of the story. We are never told her motivations by the woman herself, and that's a pity.
If you read the story, there's something a bit confusing you might notice. Hatshepsut and Thutmose III are said to be half-siblings, the children of Thutmose I. So where, you might be asking, is Thutmose II? Nowhere in this novel, at any rate. Thutmose II was actually Hatshepsut's half-brother (and husband), while Thutmose III was her nephew, her brother-husband's son by a concubine. Again, this is not entirely McGraw's fault; Egyptologists used to be very confused about the relationships and regnal order of these three.
These are my only real complaints (well, these and the fact that the ancient Egyptians didn't actually use coins, they bartered). I highly recommend this book! Five out of five stars.
Now, just for fun and just because I love this book so much, I'm going to post who I think should play each of the important characters, should Hollywood ever decide to film this neglected gem.
Mara:
Freida Pinto. I've only ever seen her in Slumdog Millionaire, but she's beautiful and as far as I can tell she's very talented. Older than seventeen, but I think she could pass pretty easily. She played an 18-year-old in Slumdog. She'd need blue contacts, of course.
Sheftu:
Ryan Gosling. Gosling is such a versatile actor, which is why I think he'd be perfect to play Sheftu, that man of many disguises.
Hatshepsut:
Salma Hayek. I really couldn't imagine anyone else as the icy Egyptian queen. She could also lend some complexity to what is right now a somewhat one-dimensional character.
Innani:
Nikki Blonsky. She played the plus-size Tracy Turnblad in the Hairspray musical movie. Quite pretty and the right weight and coloring to play the Syrian princess.
Nekonkh:
John Rhys-Davies. While I was reading the book this last time, I kept seeing this actor as Nekonkh in my mind's eye.
Thutmose:
Ryan Reynolds. It's not a huge part, but I could see him as the powerful, caged king.
Mara is the story of the titular blue-eyed slave girl, a literate and highly intelligent 17-year-old with a flair for sarcasm. Bought by a nobleman because of her noble appearance and ability for mimicry, she is assigned to the royal palace in the guise of a Babylonian interpreter for the prince's Syrian bride. Her real mission is to spy on the prince to uncover plots intended to depose Queen Hatshepsut and raise the prince himself to the throne.
However, Mara finds herself accidentally tangled up in the coup itself when she is also recruited by Sheftu, one of the prince's men, who believes her to be nothing more than a runaway slave. Mara decides to play both sides to her own advantage as a double agent, but becomes conflicted when she feels herself falling for Sheftu and beginning to agree with his cause.
I have always had just a few complaints about what is truly an amazing novel. The dialogue, especially between Mara and Sheftu, has the tendency to switch back and forth between "thee" and "you," sometimes in the same sentence. This can be rather distracting, and I think such archaic language should have been gotten rid of. The characterizations are almost all great, except for Hatshepsut. Disclaimer: I did a report on Hatshepsut in sixth grade and I've been a huge fan ever since. McGraw depicts Hatshepsut as a spoiled woman who is perfectly happy to let the whole country go to pot so long as she can build grandiose monuments in her name. How McGraw's Hatshepsut ever came to power and managed to keep it, I'll never know. The real Hatshepsut was a politically shrewd and highly intelligent woman who ruled as queen regent for the young Thutmose III for several years before declaring herself pharaoh, apparently without Thutmose's objection. And, unlike in the novel, she ran the country very well and brought about great economic prosperity. In Mara she is reduced to little more than an evil stepmother. In McGraw's defense, this was actually the popular view of Hatshepsut in the Egyptological community at that time. Still, I wish she had fleshed out the queen's character more. Hatshepsut has a great speech the last time we see her at the end of the book, a very dignified and proud speech, but with only a few pages left it's too late to prevent the character from being one-dimensional. The main problem is that we never get to hear Hatshepsut's side of the story. We are never told her motivations by the woman herself, and that's a pity.
If you read the story, there's something a bit confusing you might notice. Hatshepsut and Thutmose III are said to be half-siblings, the children of Thutmose I. So where, you might be asking, is Thutmose II? Nowhere in this novel, at any rate. Thutmose II was actually Hatshepsut's half-brother (and husband), while Thutmose III was her nephew, her brother-husband's son by a concubine. Again, this is not entirely McGraw's fault; Egyptologists used to be very confused about the relationships and regnal order of these three.
These are my only real complaints (well, these and the fact that the ancient Egyptians didn't actually use coins, they bartered). I highly recommend this book! Five out of five stars.
Now, just for fun and just because I love this book so much, I'm going to post who I think should play each of the important characters, should Hollywood ever decide to film this neglected gem.
Mara:
Ryan Gosling. Gosling is such a versatile actor, which is why I think he'd be perfect to play Sheftu, that man of many disguises.
Hatshepsut:
Nikki Blonsky. She played the plus-size Tracy Turnblad in the Hairspray musical movie. Quite pretty and the right weight and coloring to play the Syrian princess.
John Rhys-Davies. While I was reading the book this last time, I kept seeing this actor as Nekonkh in my mind's eye.
Ryan Reynolds. It's not a huge part, but I could see him as the powerful, caged king.
Sorry about the Absence
My fiance came to meet my family for the first time, and then we had to drive cross-country to get back to the university where we met and where I am completing my final semester (yay!). Then I had to move into my apartment, and attend a training session for a journalism internship, and...well, you get the idea. Excuses, excuses, excuses. I could definitely stand to be a more regular blogger. I'm settling in now and should be getting a new laptop soon (thank God), so more posts will be forthcoming.
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