Movie Review: The Dark Tower

So let's begin with the fact that I'm a pretty big fan of The Dark Tower series.

1) I referred to the series in one of my very first posts on this blog
2) I've read my way through the series and its connected books twice
3) I've led my wife, my kids, and my sci-fi loving best friend to read their own ways through the series
4) I read my way through Peter David's excellent adaptation for Marvel Comics and get overly excited every time the Dark Tower is referred to in any of Stephen King's other books.
5) Even though the first book was basically a modified Western and I hated westerns as a kid (because my Mom liked them - read more here) I could not stop reading it and HAD to see what happened in the sequel.

So yeah, I think it's fair to say I was looking forward to the movie every time I head it was going to be made and especially this year when it finally got a release date.

I saw the film yesterday with my wife and kids and here are my first impressions:

1) Why did they make this film version a YA adaptation of the source material?
2) Why is one of the secondary characters now the main character?
3) Why did they have to front load a ton of exposition for a story that really needs to build slowly?
4) Why have you taken two talented actors and given them such a muddled script to work with?
5) Why, having given up on the idea of a faithful adaptation, did you have to slip in the first line of the first book both in the middle of the film and with no connection in any way to the narrative?
6) a;ds lkfj;aldf (sorry, I just face-planted into my keyboard)...

Okay - I liked the performances by both leads, the production values was pretty great and the Easter Eggs were a fun diversion, but in the end - why? Why did they take such an interesting story and turn it into a 95 minute shoot-em-up which ignored almost every aspect of the first three books in the series?

In conclusion the film doesn't make me less of a fan of The Dark Tower series, but will likely make it much harder for me to sell others on this great book series in future.

Book Review: Pinocchio

Growing up I read a lot of books, through elementary and junior high and even into high school I averaged four to five books a week, every week without fail.

As I've always been a fan of Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction, I made my way through a lot of children's fables and fairy tales, which are filled with some of the most awful things you can imagine and then tend to aim them at kids (Cooked in an oven, eyes pecked out by birds, or bed-time forever, anyone?)

Like most people however, I've read a lot of what you'd expect and not a lot of what you might assume - like Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883).  I saw the movie as a child, enjoyed the magical transformations, the epic adventure and even singing along with "When You Wish Upon a Star", but had never actually read the original source material.

So a couple weeks ago I picked up the Gris Grimly illustrated version (which is pretty darn amazing), and set down to learn about this little wooden boy.

The book is a really quick read (less than a day for me and largely I'm talking about coffee breaks, my lunch hour and the bus trips to and from work.  The story is a delight to read, although may work better chapter-by-chapter over a series of readings, as much of the narrative is repetitive (Pinocchio is willful, told to think about what he is doing, acts without thinking, and is punished), and there are some very sudden and violent acts portrayed throughout the story as well (let's just say things don't fare very well for the cricket...).

In the end, the original Pinocchio is a pretty fun read, the boy is likable and the semi-self awareness of all puppets in the story is more than a little thought provoking.

Bookmonkey x Penguin Horror: Day 6: Me and the Monster

Of all the books available in the Penguin Horror imprint, Frankenstein is the one that shares the longest history with me. Since I was a little kid, enjoying The Hilarious House of Frightenstein on television, I was always intrigued by the creature. In the context of that show, it is actually just a prop, never doing anything but being background set dressing for the other characters, but always (in my young mind), bursting with the potential to rise.

I read the book for the first time back in junior high (middle school for my US readers), and having reread it three times since (most recently last week), I am always swept away in the epic tragedy of the story, if only Victor had attempted to help his creature, every horrible thing in the novel could have been avoided.

In terms of movies, everyone should see the 1931 James Whale directed classic Frankenstein as well as the 1935 follow-up The Bride of Frankenstein. Although the second moves away from the original source material, the two films together gave us some of the most iconic images of the creature, his bride and their world that have ever been put to film.

The 1957 Terence Fisher film The Curse of Frankenstein is still hands-down my personal favourite Frankenstein adaptation, although unlike the novel it doesn’t even attempt to make the doctor remotely sympathetic. Played by Peter Cushing as one of the most calculating bastards ever to grace the silver screen, the film sits highly in my favourite movies overall.

Although I have read a lot of Frankenstein-based fiction over the years, my current top incarnation of the character is the version used in Mike Carey and Peter Gross’s The Unwritten, which is itself a story about stories, and full of all sorts of twists and turns, but one of my favourites is the inevitably unintentional rising of the creature by the series main character Tom Taylor.

Movie Review: The Maze Runner

Yesterday my seventeen-year-old daughter and I checked out the latest YA-based adaptation to hit the screen, The Maze Runner. Based on the 2009 novel by James Dashner, the film follows Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) who begins the film being deposited in “the Glade” a small area of relative security in the middle of a massive maze.

Having seen a lot of YA adaptations over the years (from Twilight to Divergeant – which to be fair sounds like a great title for a paper on these types of films) I’m happy to say The Maze Runner stacks up pretty nicely. The story is equally strange and terrifying, much of the plot focuses on the mystery of the situation Thomas and the other boys (the film has a virtually all-male cast), have found themselves in, and very much like Lord of the Flies, society in The Glade is broken down to simple rules and is unfailingly brutal towards rule breakers.

For me the standout performance in the film belonged to Will Poulter as Gally. Considering his hilarious turn in last year’s We’re The Millers, this character is almost a polar opposite, really well defined, and surprisingly understandable.

The visuals on the maze itself are quite stunning and honestly may be best viewed in a full-sized screen environment, so if you can, try to check out the film while it’s still in theatres, and let me know what you thought.

Movie Review: Edge of Tomorrow

This weekend I went with my daughter and my BFF Mike to see the latest Tom Cruise movie, Edge of Tomorrow.

The film, based off the 2004 Japanese novel All You Need is Kill, focuses on a man forced into a War he recruits for but doesn't participate in, and the events surrounding his death on his first day in battle.

The problem is, as soon as he dies, he wakes up again, two days earlier, and relives the same two days again, and again, and again.

The film itself is pretty great, both leads do a wonderful job and the effects are pretty fantastic (although I still don't recommend seeing it in 3D if you can avoid it).  I enjoyed it a lot more than Oblivion last year, and to be fair, I liked that film fine enough, but this one brought a lot of interesting concepts to the table, and also had Mechs (robotic suits of armour found commonly in Japanese animation) which I absolutely loved.

My only issue with the film (as with a lot of movie adaptations) was that it left out a number of things from the original book I would have liked to have seen (including the ending).

In the end, see the movie, as it's well worth it, but definitely pick up the book, because it was just amazing.

Thing's I've Noticed: Bad Movie Adaptations get all the press

Earlier this week when I reviewed The Wolfman and Percy Jackson movies, I was met with responses from friends and family telling me how much the Percy Jackson film didn't match up with its sources materials. This is the tricky part of watching the film version of the books I love. One of the reasons I really liked The Book of Eli back in January was the fact that the movie was an original screenplay.

The comments and responses about my post got me thinking - what are my favourite movies adapted from books? I've got a huge list of movies where things didn't work out but how about the good - no the great ones?

So here you go, my top three favourite films based on books (in alphabetical order)

Coraline, based on the novel by Neil Gaiman

The idea of this movie was tricky for me, as I had loved both the novel and the audiobook adaptation (Stephen Merritt sings the rat songs - very cool). The concept of it being in 3D had me wondering what if the film was just going for flash or if it would respect the source material. My biggest fear was the introduction of Wybie, a character who had not existed in the novel. Thankfully, when I saw the film, my hopes were fulfilled and I can honestly say that it is one of my favourite kids genre movies of the last decade.

The Lord of the Rings, based on the novels by J.R.R. Tolkein

Looking back, these incredibly ambitious films were simply awe-inspiring. Yes, they had flaws but considering the idea that no one thought these movies could exist in a live action format (The 1978 animated version was pretty good, even though it only goes halfway through the story) they were simply amazing. As the anticipation for the movies built however, there was a lot of negative press going along the lines of "How dare Peter Jackson try to ruin my precious series!?!" It's funny, because afterwards, the films (and I am definitely talking about the extended editions here) have become some of my favourites and have paved the way for many more fantasy books to come to film - for good or bad.

The Witches, based on the novel by Roald Dahl

This book creeped me out. It was, simply put, one of my earliest written examples of a horror novel I can remember being affected by, and so, when I heard a movie was coming out, I actually thought that there would be no way it could match up with my memory of the novel from Elementary school. Wow, was I wrong - this movie is incredible - the effects are Henson-riffic, the portrayal of the witches (especially the early flashback) are just this side of terrifying, and I've just got to say it - this is one of my favourite horror movies for kids.

There you go - a trio of awesome movie adaptions, in my opinion. Let me know if I've missed any great ones, or if you disagree.