Category Archives: movie

John Carter

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As I write this, I just finished watching John Carter.  It was a fantastic movie, but then I’m prejudiced.  I first read a Princess of Mars 41 years ago and it became a part of me.  Edgar Rice Burroughs influenced my writing of course, but he and his character John Carter influenced my outlook on life too.  This really is a story for the ages, one that has been copied again and again.

I thought the movie did a good job of bringing the book to life.  There were some changes in the story and a few elements were brought in from book two of the series, but for the most part, they were understandable changes, keeping today’s movie-goer in mind.  The actors were all believable in their roles, the special effects were top-notch, and the story-telling pace was good.

I would recommend this movie to anyone, but you really should read the books.  They are great.

Incidentally, I went with my wife, daughter, and son– the first movie the whole family has been together for, for more than a year.  We saw it in 3-D.  Despite it all costing an arm and a leg for us to have an evening together, it was very nice.

Great History Movie

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The Conspirator, directed by Robert Redford explores the trial of one of the accused assassins of Abraham Lincoln.  It’s visually stunning and chock-full of excellent actors.  Very well done.  It’s out now on DVD and BluRay and available at your local Redbox.  Check it out.

Zulu

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I just watched the 1964 film Zulu, staring Stanley Baker and Michael Caine (in his first starring role).  This movie was a big inspiration for me when I was writing the battle scenes in The Voyage of the Minotaur.  I tipped my hat to the film in Brechalon, when I named Augie’s NCO, Colour Sergeant Bourne.  Bourne was a historical person in the Battle of Roark’s Drift, which is what Zulu is about.  If you watch the movie, you will also note “Colour Sergeant Bourne!” is the most often repeated phrase in the movie.  Seriously, if you haven’t seen the movie, you should.  It’s on the watch now list on Netflix.

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Princess of Mars

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I’ve mentioned A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs before.  It’s an awesome book.  I love it and it’s the inspiration for my own Princess of Amathar.  I just watched the movie Princess of Mars (2009).  It’s not bad as B movies go.  It’s not even the worst movie based on a Burroughs book.  Some special effects were even okay.  It was missing three things thought that ARE Edgar Rice Burroughs.
1. Mystery.  John Carter never knows how he got to Mars.  Was it somehow related to his immortality– pretty mysterious in its own right.  In the movie… neither.  It’s some wacky government experiment.  There are no dead/lost cities– maybe THE best parts of any Burroughs book.
2. Relationships.  Though the friendship between John Carter and Tars Tarkas was okay, there was no hint of the emotional conflict of Sola, the only thark to know her father.  And one of the best parts of the book is Dejah Thoris’s anger at John Carter when she thinks he wants her only as his slave rather than his mate.
3. Beautiful women.  Tracy Lords turns out not to be too bad an actress and she is attractive enough in a “rode hard” sort of way– not surprising really, but she’s hardly “the most beautiful woman of two worlds.”
Of course there is a BIG budget, BIG name, BIG studio version of this story coming out in 2012.  I can’t wait.
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Taking Chance

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There is a movie out now that you can find in your Red Box or on Netflix. It’s called Taking Chance and everyone in America should see it. It will give you a new perspective on our servicemen and women and the sacrifices they make for their country. If it were up to me, all high school students would watch this film before gradating.

Where the Wild Things Are

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I went and saw Where the Wild Things Are this past weekend. As a lover of the book I was interested to see how they would flesh out the story. I was wonderfully surprised. I loved it. I know that people seem to love or hate this movie, but you have to see it all to appreciate it. Watch it. I am definitely buying this when it comes out on Bluray.

O Pioneers! – Movie vs. Book

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I watched the 1992 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie of O Pioneers. It was about as close to the book as a movie could possibly be. Jessica Lange was good as Alexandra, and interestingly enough, Heather Graham was very believable as a young Alexandra. David Strathairn is always great and was an excellent Carl, and while Anne Heche wasn’t my idea of Marie, she was passable. Reed Diamond, now playing in Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse (more about this excellent show in a later post) was Emil.

There were only one or two incidental scenes from the book that didn’t appear in the movie, and everything was very well done. I thought that it was a bit more obvious that Emil and Marie had sex in the movie (they had their clothes off) than in the book. If all book adaptations were this good then books might really be in trouble. Fortunately that is not the case.

Note: I have never claimed to be a good critic. As the saying goes, “I don’t know what’s good. I just know what I like.”